Newdery Battery Case for iPhone 16 review: bulky but smartly designed

Macworld

At a glanceExpert's Rating

Pros

High-capacity battery pack

Wireless charging inside the case

Affordable

Cons

Bulky

Our Verdict
For little investment you get a lot of battery power from the Newdery Battery Case, but at the price of added weight and bulk.

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While Mophie has always lead the market for iPhone battery cases, Chinese maker Newdery has persevered with quality battery cases for most iPhone models in the past five or so years.

It offers a battery case for each of the iPhone 16 range: 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max. Mophie, on the other hand, didn’t bother with a case for the 16 Plus when it came to the Mophie Juice Pack for iPhone 16—so Plus owners have an easier choice between the two battery cases.

Design

The Newdery Battery Case for iPhone 16 differs from the Mophie Juice Pack for iPhone 16 in a number of ways—some good, some more compromised.

Unlike the two-part Mophie design, Newdery’s battery case is a one-piece. It looks good from the back and provides the necessary screen protection at the front with a raised lip.

The back cameras are shielded as the case’s battery hump extends higher than the lenses.

There are the expected cutouts for all the buttons, mics and speakers, and everything is easily accessible.

While Mophie has made its more fragile two-piece design more robust, we still feel safer with Newdery’s one-section case. There are grips along the side to push the protection even further.

Inside, Newdery has dared to think different. While the Mophie Juice Pack continues with the built-in USB-C connector, Newdery uses wireless charging so that there is no risk of jamming the phone into the case too hard and damaging the iPhone’s charging port.

As the charging is wireless, it’s slower than you’d get with the hard connection, but it’s fast enough for most purposes. The wireless charging occurs within the case—you can’t wirelessly charge the battery case itself. You need to connect the case to a charger via a USB-C cable to refill it ready for the next time.




Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Because the Newdery battery has a higher capacity than the Mophie (5000mAh compared to 2800mAh) it is significantly bulkier than the Juice Pack. It is nearly 2cm deep compared to the Mophie’s 1.6mm depth, and weighs 5oz (143g) compared to 3.6oz (103g). That’s the price you pay for a larger built-in battery.

Performance tests

That larger battery might mean a bulkier, heavier case but it also brought nearly half as much recharging power again. While the Mophie recharged a faded iPhone 16 Pro back to 50%, the Newdery reached 72%.

That might make the difference between getting back to base before the phone again runs out of power, but you do pay for the power with the noticeably bulkier form.

Another option is to use of the magnetic battery packs we have tested and reviewed in our roundup of the best iPhone power banks. These won’t protect your iPhone like a battery case, but they only have to come with you when you need them—although battery cases can save the day when you aren’t expecting to suddenly receive the battery warning of doom.




Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Price

The $32.99 / £36.99 Newdery Battery Case is much cheaper than the $99.95 Mophie Juice Pack, as you might expect from a Chinese brand sold predominantly online. Check out the Amazon links here for further discounts.

While cheap, we have used Newdery battery cases over long periods of time and have found them reliable.

Should you buy the Newdery Battery Case for iPhone

For little investment you get a lot of battery power from the Newdery Battery Case, but at the price of added weight and bulk. It might be one to keep aside for long journeys if you don’t want to lug a power bank around with you, and remember that as a case it offers protection, too.